Imperfectly Humble: Does Mindfulness Attenuate the Relationship Between Perfectionism and Humility?

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between mindfulness, perfectionism, and humility. In particular, we examined whether mindfulness explains variance in humility above and beyond perfectionism, and whether mindfulness can attenuate the relationship between perfectionism and humility. We conducted two cross-sectional studies (n = 248 and n = 268) utilizing participants from a university setting. They completed a survey of measures that included humility, mindfulness, and maladaptive perfectionism. We conducted bivariate correlations, hierarchical linear regression, and regression-based moderation to test our hypotheses. Across both studies, we found that perfectionism was negatively related to humility, and mindfulness was positively related to humility. In addition, mindfulness was related to unique variance in humility beyond perfectionism. In Study 1, mindfulness buffered the association between perfectionism and humility, but this finding did not replicate in Study 2. Future studies may investigate whether humility can be increased using mindfulness interventions.